The Forty-Eighth Day: Brighton, Royal Pavilion

Thursday, March 27:

Woke up this morning and snapped a few photos around the pier & the wheel before heading to the Royal Pavilion.

The Royal Pavilion is one of the weirdest buildings I've seen in the UK. From their website:

"Welcome to an extraordinary and extravagant pleasure palace. Built for the Prince Regent, later King George IV, in stages between 1787 and 1823, the Royal Pavilion is remarkable for its exotic oriental appearance both inside and out. This magnificent royal pleasure palace was revered by fashionable Regency society and is still a distinctive landmark for vibrant Brighton & Hove today. The Royal Pavilion is also home to some of the finest collections and examples of the chinoiserie style in Britain." 

'Chinoiserie,' French for Chinese-esque, was a popular European design theme from the 1700s. King George IV was, evidently, a big fan.  The exterior of this building is SO unique. You're not likely to find another building like it in the UK. 

Love these spires.

Statue of King George IV, just outside the Pavilion. 

Loved what the light was doing through the lattice-work, had to get a close-up. 

They didn't allow photography inside the Pavilion, but I'll post some from google. Just look at this place! Before we start, look at the floor plan. It'll help get your bearings on all the rooms I'm about to post. 

First, the Entrance Hall:

Okay, so it's not that impressive. ON PURPOSE!  King George IV was very theatrical, and wanted a visit to the Pavilion to be a performance of sorts. The rooms get more grandiose the further you go. 

The Long Gallery:

A very, VERY long hall. Made to look even longer with mirrors at either end. Remember that theatricality thing we talked about earlier? Everything's a production in this place. 

The Banqueting Room:

See that chandelier? Let's take a look at what's holding it up...

A silver-gilted dragon!! Amazing. From the website: 

"The elaborate Banqueting Room is highly theatrical in style, a perfect backdrop to the magnificent feasts that George IV would have offered his courtiers and guests. Lengthy banquets often included up to 70 different dishes." 

The Great Kitchen: 

"The Great Kitchen was designed to be innovative and modern for its day.  Its facilities offered: the latest steam heating technology, a constant supply of water pumped from a nearby well into the Royal Pavilion’s own water tower, and an impressive ventilation and illumination system of twelve high windows. A kitchen so close to the Banqueting Room was unusual for the day.  It gave George IV the opportunity to impress his guests with his new facilities and he often escorted his guests around the Great Kitchen as part of his tour of the state apartments."

The Banqueting Room Gallery:

The Saloon: 

The Music Room Gallery:

All three of these rooms are 'retiring rooms,' where King George IV's guests would go after dinner to talk, play cards, and drink. 

The Music Room: 

This was my favourite room in the Pavilion.  Very grand and magnificent. 

"One of George IV’s greatest passions was music.  Here in the Music Room the king’s own band entertained guests with Handel or Italian opera.  The Italian composer Rossini performed here in 1823. This splendid room was severely damaged by fire in 1975. A full restoration was completed, including a beautiful reproduction of the original hand-knotted and fitted Axminster carpet. Disaster struck again in October 1987 when a storm dislodged a heavy stone ball which fell through the newly restored ceiling onto the new carpet."

So sad, right? After they hand-knotted that gorgeous carpet.
Not to worry though. The room is fully restored at the present. 

The King's Apartments:

Basically it looks like the best library in the world. If only there were more bookshelves. And guys, this isn't even including the second floor. It's overwhelming just how much grandeur there is in this place.  I'll spare you more photos of it, just know it was awesome. 

After the Pavilion, I went back to the hotel and enjoyed the sauna, steam room, and swimming pool for a few hours. Then went back to the beach at sunset.

This clock was the landmark I used to get my bearings in the city. 

Cheers!
Kami & Chris, the Pseudo-Londoners